Wetlands

Restoring wetlands is a major component in Metro Parks' habitat restoration program. Newly acquired land is evaluated in terms of its soil composition and plant life for potential wetland characteristics.  Metro Parks makes every effort to return the land to its former habitat as part of its restoration efforts. This may include detailed surveys, studies, restorative plantings and the additional purchase of land. Wetland restoration efforts can be quite costly. To help fund these projects, Metro Parks has employed a variety of strategies and partnerships. Wetlands at Pickerington Ponds and Battelle Darby Creek Metro Parks are being restored through funds from the Natural Resource Conservation Service Wetland Reserve Program and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program. Metro Parks developed a 125-acre wetland at Slate Run with the help of the Ohio Wetlands Foundation. Thanks to Honda of America, Metro Parks has also established a Wetland Education Area at Glacier Ridge Metro Park. Other wetlands that Metro Parks has constructed include the wetlands at Highbanks, Prairie Oaks, Chestnut Ridge, Glacier Ridge and Three Creeks. Currently, Metro Parks is preserving and protecting more than 1,000 acres of wetlands as parts of complex natural landscapes.

Not all wetlands are the same. Wetlands differ due to variations in soils, vegetation, climate, water levels and chemistry. Below are wetlands found in some of your Metro Parks. Wet prairies have saturated soils throughout much of the growing season and attract a diversity of wildlife to their tall grasses and wildflowers. Battelle Darby Creek and Prairie Oaks Metro Parks Sedge meadows are grassy-looking open wetlands usually found as part of larger wetlands. Migratory birds use sedge meadows for nesting and breeding. Glacier Ridge, Pickerington Ponds, Prairie Oaks and Slate Run Metro Parks Cattail marshes provide protection for bitterns, rails and other small birds and are a great place to listen for spring peepers. Cattails can help regulate water levels through storage of water in their roots and stalks. Pickerington Ponds and Slate Run Metro Parks Swamps are associated with woodland cover and may have shrubs and trees such as the cottonwood and swamp white oaks. Plants, birds, fish and many rare species depend on this environment. Battelle Darby Creek, Blacklick Woods and Sharon Woods Metro Parks Vernal pools are covered by shallow water for variable periods of time, often drying up in the summer. In spring, many amphibians and insects can be found.  All Metro Parks For more information on vernal pool restoration, see Ohio Vernal Pool Partnership